Whiteout
by wildblues
Summary: I believe it was about 17 years ago... A whole fleet was destroyed by a sole aparoid. We were somehow able to survive that trial...but that was just a taste of what's coming." - Beltino Toad


**Whiteout**

_"I believe it was about 17 years ago... A whole fleet was destroyed by a sole aparoid. We were somehow able to survive that trial...but that was just a taste of what's coming."_ - Beltino Toad

* * *

He swirled his coffee a little bit, before bringing it to his mouth and taking a quick sip. His whiskers brushed the edges of the mug, making them twitch at the steam rose from it to tickle his nose. The coffee was sweet, but not too much. In his younger years, he would drink his coffee black, in order to seem a little hardier. But as time went on, he developed a taste for the extremely sweet kind of coffee, because he didn't see many he felt he needed to impress anymore.

Peppy Hare's eyes wandered around his quarters. From the edge of his desk, to the wall, to the window, he looked on with a keen sense of interest. Outside the window, the stars sparkled brightly as they passed over Fichina, which cast a faint glow over the cold metal of the 'Great Fox'. The hare stared wistfully at the cold, icy planet, and faintly remembered his early days.

* * *

It was the first day. 

Team Star Fox was sent on their first mission, issued by the General at the time, General Stokes. Stokes was a strict old fellow, his cold steely eyes and whiplike tail gave him a rather cruel and nearly terrifying air about him. The iguana was getting on in his years, though, and was set to retire soon after. Lieutenant Pepper stood at his side any time he appeared on the video-screen, looking on with a sense of duty that made him General.

Stokes had sent the team on a routine trip to Fichina to search for a ship that had mysteriously disappeared in the mountains. A Cornerian diplomat was aboard that ship, and had come to suggest a climate-control system for the planet, but the weather had marred their flight, and sent the ship hurtling into the jagged peaks on the outskirts of Fichina's only city.

James McCloud had been only too happy to accept the mission, and he immediately sent his team into a frenzy of preparation for the flight to Fichina. Afterwards, the team set off in the direction of Fichina.

Beltino Toad sat in a chair at the bridge with their navigator, ROB-16. Watching the stars whip by, he took a sip of his coffee, sweetened with several spoonfuls of sugar.

"Beltino, don't you get sick of that sweet crap?" Pigma Dengar called from his seat. He growled slightly as he attempted to get his bag of chips open. Once he did, they spilled down his front and onto the floor.

"Well… No, actually. It's actually a lot nicer," Beltino said, opting not to pick a fight with Pigma that day. It was no secret that he disliked his teammate, and the feelings were definitely mutual.

"_Entering Fichina's atmosphere_," ROB-16's voice cut through the room, _"Adjusting gravity sensors. Preparing for landing."_

The team quickly strapped themselves to their seats, and promptly clamped their teeth together in preparation for the landing.

"I hate this part," James said, gritting his teeth and holding onto the edge of his seat.

The ship jolted violently from left to right, and the ship started to freefall into the atmosphere. Through the glass, they saw the clouds build up around them, and soon saw the ground open up beneath him. Beltino scrambled to get the landing gear in order, and soon powerful jets were streaming from the bottom of the ship, allowing the ship to slow down, and finally land softly on the snow at the top of a mountain.

Three arwings emerged from the docking bay, and sped off into the snowstorm.

"What's that?" Peppy Hare said, "Three O'Clock."

Both James and Pigma turned their heads to the right a little, to see a stream of smoke rising into the air. It was a dark black, which contrasted heavily with the whiteness of Fichina. Swooping in low, the three cautiously investigated. Sure enough, there was a fire, but not where it was to be expected. It was not the diplomat's ship, but rather, an energy station. The building seemed to be burning from the inside, but there seemed to be no signs of life.

"This…isn't good," James said, coughing, "You two go forward, and I'll contact the General and meet you down there."

"Affirmative."

"Whatever ya say, boss."

James pressed the comlink button for three seconds, letting go once he heard a beep, "General, we've encountered a problem. One of the energy stations has seemingly exploded, and we're going to check it out."

There was no answer.

He pressed the button again.

"General, do you copy?"

Still no answer.

Something was wrong.

After throwing two switches, he spoke into the comlink again, "Pigma, Peppy, we've got a problem. The General isn't responding, something's happened to…" He stopped abruptly as something jolted his craft, sending alarms blaring inside his cockpit.

He looked to the side, and saw a creature he'd never seen before. It had the appearance of a large bug, a dark colour. It flew alongside his ship before firing a beam at it, shaking his arwing to its core.

"What the hell is that?" Pigma cried, and immediately blasted the creature. He missed, and the target was hit by Peppy, not destroying it, but sending it to the ground in a brief bout of shock.

"I don't know, but I think we'd better head back up now, who knows what's here. And whatever it is, we're not ready for it," Peppy said, his voice a little shaky.

"Right. The storm's interfering with the communications link to the 'Golden Fox', but hopefully Beltino left it in the same spot," James said, and immediately kicked his G-Diffuser into high gear and took off towards the ominous clouds, while Pigma and Peppy followed suit.

Upon their arrival, Beltino's distraught face greeted them.

"The General… His fleet was attacked while you were down there. He sent a message to us before the communications cut out, I'll bring it up on the main monitor," Beltino said, and punched a few codes into the control deck.

The scaly face of General Stokes appeared, his cold, dark eyes holding a rooted fear that was never heard of in him. Behind his head, red lights were flashing, klaxons were sounding, and his men were scrambling in a blind panic. A loud explosion rocked the screen, and several screams sounded.

"Star Fox, we're… nder… ack, we ne… to… stroy them. The… King Aparoid."

"What? What's an aparoid?"

"_Aparoid. A Creature from Aparillia, wish to assimilate all life and become the perfect existence. Highly dangerous, have the ability to attach themselves to both organic and inorganic materials and infect that material."_

"Damn! Can we contact them now?" James shouted.

"I'm afraid not. Communications cut out hours ago. I can attempt to call the Corneria base, if you want, though…"

"Anything will do, Beltino."

After another couple of codes, Lieutenant Pepper appeared on the main screen. He looked tired and sullen, and he wrung his paws in anxiety.

"S-Star Fox! You're alive!"

"What happened to the General?" James demanded. It wasn't characteristic of him to challenge the Lieutenant's authority, but he was on edge.

"I'm afraid his fleet was attacked by a sole Aparoid, and was completely wiped out. We came along with a Battlecruiser, but it was too late, there was nothing left. At least we blasted that bastard to hell, and won't be seeing him again."

James' head was swimming. He'd never heard of an aparoid, but he was afraid of them after what he's heard. A Battlecruiser had the firepower to destroy a planet, and they had barely been able to keep the aparoid at bay. It destroyed an entire fleet effortlessly.

These Aparoids were a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

"_Approaching Aparillia, Aparoid Homeworld, adjusting gravity sensors, preparing for landing."_

Peppy shot upright from his seat, and tore down the hallway to the bridge, nearly spilling his coffee all over his trenchcoat.

"These Aparoids are a force to be reckoned with…" He thought to himself.

"Be careful."


End file.
